THE treatment of rough sleepers on the streets of Bolton has featured in this column before ­— and it is about the same homeless person.

Earlier this year, we reported on how a group of girls had scattered and damaged the belongings of Shaun Hibbert at the junction of Trinity Street and Bradshawgate.

Now we hear he is lucky to have escaped with his life after his tent was set alight as he slept.

He was only alerted to the danger when his dog, Bruce, started barking.

It is incomprehensible why anyone would set fire to a tent with someone asleep inside. Was the intention to destroy his home, scare him or even to kill him?

Had his dog not woken him up, he would have been burned alive and police would be carrying out a murder investigation.

If this had happened at a house and someone’s front door was set alight as a family slept upstairs, there would be major concerns about their safety.

Shaun says he is happier living on the streets than in accommodation and he is a familiar sight around town, especially on that corner which he has made his home.

But he says he is regularly targeted and has goods stolen or damaged.

Some of the treatment he and other rough sleepers endure is disgusting. How would those responsible feel if it was their loved one who had fallen on hard times and was being targeted in this way?